Quick Description: One of the most overwrought of the UDC Lost Cause monuments we have seen in the South, this monument stands in front of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History on S State Street in Jackson

Long Description:This tall Confederate monument stands in front of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History on S State Street in Jackson. It is one of the most overwrought of all the United Daughters of the Confederacy monuments we have seen, closely rivaled by the Monument to Southern Women on the Mississippi State Capitol a few blocks away, and the Captain Henry Wirz Monument in Andersonville GA.

A neglected sign explaining the features of this monument (much of which is closed up and locked) reads as follows:

"[L side panel]

HISTORY OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

This monument was erected 1888-1891 through the combined efforts of the United daughters of the Confederacy and the Mississippi legislature. The cornerstone was laid on May 25, 1888, with Varina “Winnie” Davis, a daughter of Ex-Confederate President Jefferson Davis, in attendance.

Legislative approval for the final $10,000 dollars required for construction was passed following the impassioned appeal of representative John F. Harris of Washington County, and African-American and former slave. Upon completion, the monument is dedicated before crowd of approximately 18,000 visitors on June 3, 1891.

The full-length statue of Jefferson Davis inside the chamber, made of fine Italian marble, was sculpted after his death on December 6, 1889, and placed in the vault in his memory.

The plot of ground was designated Confederate Monument Park by a 1902 law.

[Center panel]

CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

Erected in 1891 to honor the Confederate dead of Mississippi. Symbolic devices include the traditional Sentinel standing watch on high, 3 marble plaques with crossed muskets, Canon, and shield, the letter CSA, and interior dedicatory plaques with the following inscriptions:

NORTHWESTGod and our consciences alone Give us measures of right and wrong. The race may fall to the swift And the battle to the strong; But the truth will shine in history And blossom into song.

SOUTHWESTThe men to whose memory this Monument is dedicated were martyrsOf their creed, their justification is in the Holy Keeping of the God of History.

SOUTHThe noble women of Mississippi, moved by grateful hearts and loving zeal, organized June 15, A.D. 1886, the Confederate Monument Association. Their efforts, aided by an appropriation of the state of Mississippi, were crowned with success in the erection of this Monument to the Confederate dead of Mississippi, in the year 1891.

NORTHEAST“All lost! But by the gravesWhere martyred heroes rest.He wins the most who honor saves –Success is not the test.”

STATUE OF JEFFERSON DAVISThe statue of Jefferson Davis was commissioned by the Mississippi legislature in 1890. It was sculpted in Italy and brought to the United States, where it was installed in the Mississippi Confederate monument.

The iron gates were added sometime later in an attempt to protect the statue from vandalism this effort apparently was not successful, as the statue was moved from the crypt to a position above the West portal. An additional slab was installed as a base for the statue, and part of the monument was roughly chiseled out to allow the statue to fit.

When the statue began deteriorating from exposure to the elements, it was moved inside the Old Capitol, where it remained until its removal following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The statue was then placed in its original location in the center of the monument during the 2009 restoration of the Old Capitol."

Date Installed:: 5/25/1898Organization that placed the object:: United Daughters of the Confederacy and State of MississippiRelated Website:: [Web Link]Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

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